


Can I Keep It?

by alistairweekend



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Blue Sky (Portal), Children, Cute, Domestic, F/M, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 01:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7133912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistairweekend/pseuds/alistairweekend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble inspired by the prompt "Chelley + 'Great, what did you bring home this time?'"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Keep It?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blue Sky](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/204440) by waffleguppies. 



Chell stood on the back porch, hands on her hips and an eyebrow arching towards her hairline as she gazed at the pair that stood before her.

The grass, untouched by any sort of landscaping equipment for an unfathomable amount of time, reached just above Wheatley’s knees – remarkable given his height. This translated to neck-height of the young girl standing next to him. Both had matching twigs and various other nature-y debris tangled in their blond hair, with dust and dirt smeared erratically over the rest of their bodies to complete the disheveled look. But it wasn’t the soiled clothes that bothered Chell; it was the fact that the girl was clearly holding something – a rather _large_ something at that – conveniently obscured by the long grass. Also the fact that, while the girl displayed a happy grin, Wheatley’s smile was very sheepish.

Chell’s expression silently conveyed her words for her: _What on Earth did you bring home this time?_

Wheatley finally found it in him to speak, stepping forward earnestly. “I-I told her not to touch it! I said, ‘Sophie, that’s a wild animal, we don’t want to bother it.’ But I turned my back for one second and she’d gone and grabbed it! Don’t ask me how! When I went to go try and take it away, it nearly bit me and ran off, and then Sophie ran off after it and so I had to run after her…”

As Wheatley’s explanation rambled on, his arms gesturing wildly as he recounted the event, the Sophie in question giggled and moved forward so she was no longer covered by the grass. Chell braced herself, expecting some Very-Likely-To-Have-Rabies animal like a rat or raccoon… and was instead greeted by (to her slight relief) a fluffy, disgruntled cat hanging from her daughter’s arms. Sophie had her arms hooked underneath the large cat’s front legs, leaving its stomach bared and its hind feet barely touching the ground. It wore a look of resignation on its face, so profound that Chell almost lost her composure and laughed. But she had to stay stern, if just for a little longer.

“Can I keep him?” Sophie interrupted her father’s indignant rant, grey eyes pleading up at Chell. Chell bit her lip, hating how weak her resolve became when faced with Sophie’s excited, pleading face. Wheatley huffed and crossed his arms when he realized he’d been cut off.

Chell knelt down so she was eye-level with Sophie. “What if it’s someone else’s pet?”

“He doesn’t have a collar,” Sophie insisted. “And look at him, he’s thin underneath the fluff!” She started to move one hand in an attempt to part the cat’s fur, but quickly moved her hand back when it started to struggle at her weakened grip. “Pleeeaaase? Let me help him, Mummy!”

It was always funny when Sophie’s almost-accent became more prominent. Chell’s mouth quirked into a half-smile, but at the same time she sighed and shook her head. She knew she’d lost the argument. What Sophie said was true, and there was no way Chell could find it in her to turn away a creature in need of care, and Sophie knew it. Every injured bird, every cold reptile, every sick mammal Sophie had had the luck of finding (and she seemed to find such things quite often) had been nursed back to health in their home. Sophie had been good about releasing the animals back into the wild once they had healed. This was the first domestic animal she had dragged home, however.

Chell glanced up at Wheatley, who was still pouting over being interrupted. “What do you think of having a pet cat?”

Brow furrowing, Wheatley turned to gaze at the feline. “I didn’t know it was a cat… never seen one before now, now that I think about it. At least not- at least not in more, ah, recent years… So it’s safe, then? Can’t hurt her? Or me, for that matter? Because it looked awfully intent on ripping out a chunk of my hand earlier.”

The cat let out a low, plaintive meow, as if it knew Wheatley was talking about it. Sophie gripped it tighter, and amazingly it didn’t try to wriggle free.

Well, the cat was probably feral. But the fact that it was allowing Sophie to hold it, and for such a long time, no less, was a good sign. Could it hurt her or Wheatley? Given that it was an animal with teeth and claws, yes. But Chell decided not to delve into technicalities. 

“It’s safe,” she assured Wheatley.

He still looked a little dubious, but Wheatley gave his consent. “If you say so.”

Sophie’s smile widened, eerily reminiscent of Wheatley’s signature goofy grin, and Chell couldn’t help but smile fully as well at the sight. “Yes!” the girl exclaimed and twirled around to show her excitement. The cat did not seem to share her sentiment, however, and warbled its annoyance. Sophie stopped moving immediately and looked down at it. “Oh, sorry, kitty.” She paused to gasp as something occurred to her. “I need to come up with a name for you!”

Chell stood. “All right, let’s go inside and get you both cleaned up. You can brainstorm names while we do that.” She would give Sophie the lecture about how having a pet was a big responsibility after that.

“How many animals have you caught, now?” Wheatley mused as they started walking. “We’ve got a veritable lion tamer in the making on our hands. Though I don’t know how much of a market there is for that occupation nowadays…”

“Too late,” Chell said with a quiet chuckle, noting Sophie’s now-sparkling eyes. “Like it or not, I think Sophie has a new career goal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sophie, Chell and Wheatley's daughter, first came about in my old fic [Ready Or Not](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3439397). She's the baby from waffleguppies' short [Kick](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7605308/1/Kick).


End file.
